Protege
by Briana Marie
Summary: COMPLETE! Sirius had always called Bill his protege. Then Sirius had done the unthinkable, or so Bill had thought. This is the story of what happens when Bill finds out the truth and gets his hero back, only to lose him aga


Disclaimer: I do not own Bill Weasley, though sometimes I think I enjoy writing him more than even Jo does. I also don't own Sirius Black or any other characters you may recognize from that little book series that inspires so much of what I write. :)

**A/N**: This didn't turn out exactly as I had planned, but here it is nonetheless. Another fic dedicated to my adoration of all things Bill. This goes along with "The Mystery of the Marauder's Map" and "Growing Up Flower Twins" but can be read without having read either of those. Just know that in my universe, Bill was in first year at Hogwarts when Lily, Sirius and the gang were in seventh. :)

* * *

Protege

When Dumbledore had extended the offer to join the Order of the Phoenix, Bill had accepted without hesitation. Ever since his family had told him that Voldemort was back, he had wanted a chance to take the evil megalomaniac down. That . . . thing was the reason that so many people that Bill loved were dead, particularly one person that he had never really stopped loving.

There was only one person in the world that Bill wanted to make suffer more, but unfortunately Bill didn't think he'd ever be able to find him as he had disappeared from anyone's radar a little over a year previously.

Or so he had thought.

Bill was drawn out of his thoughts when Dumbledore said the name that had been roaming through his head.

"I'm sorry, Sir. Could you repeat that? What did you say about Sirius Black?"

Dumbledore had an odd expression on his face as he repeated, "I said that I wanted to give you fair warning before you ran into him at a meeting. Sirius Black is a member of the Order. He was not the one to betray Lily and James. Peter Pettigrew was the traitor. Sirius is innocent."

Shock overcame Bill in a wave, and he felt his legs give out from underneath him. No wonder Dumbledore was wearing such a strange mask. He had no way of knowing how Bill would take such news. Bill didn't even really know how he was taking the news. He should be thrilled. The man that he had looked up to during his days at Hogwarts was innocent. The Sirius he had known really had existed and wasn't just a farce created to fool everyone. He should be happy, relieved, any positive emotion. But instead he just felt . . . numb.

He had hated the man for fourteen years. Had dreamed of killing him, of making him pay. He had locked away every positive memory and feeling he had towards the man. He had convinced himself that that Sirius had never really existed. And now, here was Dumbledore saying that not only had he existed, but that he still did. He had been wrongly accused and had been locked away in Azkaban. He had lost everything. Everyone had thought he was a killer. Everyone. Including Bill.

The numbness was beginning to give way to nausea. Excusing himself, Bill ran to the nearest loo and vomited up everything he had in his system. Bill was not only purging the food from his body, but also purging the hate from his soul.

He washed up and returned to his former Headmaster feeling marginally better, but he knew there was only one thing that would make him feel truly good, would make him feel happy as he had not been in fourteen years.

"When can I see him?"

* * *

Bill didn't think he had ever been so nervous. Not when he had asked out a girl for the first time. Not when he was waiting to find out whether or not he had made Head Boy. Not before his O.W.L.s or his N.E.W.T.s. Not when he had confessed to Lily that the only reason he was getting Charms tutoring was so he could spend time with her. Not when he had lied to Sirius in order to help Lily play the world's greatest prank on him. Not when he had first taken Fleur out on a date. Never.

Dumbledore had immediately taken Bill to the Order's Headquarters, waiting until they were in front of the house that seemingly did not exist to actually tell Bill where the Headquarters was. It had been pretty cool to see the house appear out of nowhere, and Bill could see by the twinkle in Dumbledore's eye that he enjoyed watching his reaction.

He had been standing outside of the door trying to calm his breathing. He had no idea what he was going to say to Sirius. What do you say to a man that you had first idolized and then despised, only to learn that you really should have been idolizing him the entire time.

Finally Bill decided on what he was going to say, and entered the house. It was a dreadful place and Bill knew immediately that Order Headquarters was Sirius' family home. He and Sirius had talked enough about Sirius' family to recognize the signs. Bill had listened to Sirius tell him how lucky he was to have the family he had so many times Bill couldn't even count them. Before he had learned what Sirius had done, or what he had thought he had done, or . . . it was so confusing to just learn that everything he had always thought true was false. Anyway, back then, before everything had changed, Bill sometimes wondered if he would be as close with his family if it weren't for Sirius always encouraging him to cherish what he had.

As Bill looked around, he was caught off guard by the voice that he had never thought he'd hear again.

"Well look at this. My protege has come to visit."

Bill turned to see Sirius standing on the bottom step of the staircase. Bill had obviously seen the pictures of Sirius that had been plastered everywhere after his escape from Azkaban, but pictures could not have prepared him for how much Sirius had changed. He wasn't as skinny or unkempt as he was in the Azkaban photos, though he was certainly nowhere near as well-groomed as he had been at Hogwarts. It wasn't his hair or face that showed Bill exactly how much Sirius had been through. It was his eyes. They were filled with so much pain, Bill lost the words that he had wanted to say.

After staring at the man for what felt like an eternity, Bill finally choked out, "I am so sorry" and rushed into Sirius' waiting arms.

It was as if they were back at Hogwarts again. Sirius had been the one to comfort Bill after James and Lily had first revealed that they had gotten together. They had both known that it was right and that Bill would never have really had a chance with Lily, and yet, even though James was Sirius' best friend and even though he was thrilled for him, Sirius comforted the eleven year old boy who had had his heart broken for the very first time.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Sirius said, continuing to hug Bill as he let out all of the pain, all of the regret, all of the guilt.

* * *

They spent most of that night reminiscing about the past. They talked about Hogwarts and were even able to share fond memories of people they had lost. Sirius told him some stories about Gideon and Fabian that he had not been able to fully appreciate when he was younger, but greatly appreciated now.

At first it was difficult to talk about his Uncles, but eventually it just felt easy. Sirius had been very close with the two men and was able to remind Bill of just how wonderful they had been.

They avoided the topic of Lily for a very long time. Sirius mentioned James a few times, but Lily was left untouched. Sometime around 3am though, Bill couldn't not talk about her for any longer.

"I still miss her."

Sirius nodded, not needing to ask who "her" was.

"So do I. Every day. James was my very best friend and I miss him every single day, but I miss Lily just as much. She was amazing."

"Wonderful."

"And because of her, I still have Harry," Sirius said, smiling at the thought of his godson.

"He's a great kid, isn't he?" Bill said.

Sirius nodded.

"When I first met him last year, I almost did a double take. I had known that he was friends with Ron and he and Mum and Dad had told me all about him, but when I met him, all I could think was that he looked so much like James, except . . ."

"Lily's eyes," Sirius said.

Bill nodded. It had been like seeing a ghost. Though, unlike for most people, it was the ghost of Lily he saw. Those eyes were the first thing he really saw when he started at Hogwarts. So beautiful, so kind. Bill had fallen in love the moment he had looked into those eyes. True, it wasn't a real love. He had known that they would never really be together, but it was an intense affection that only grew as he got to know her.

"They were hypnotizing, weren't they?" Sirius said, smiling fondly.

"Everything about her was."

"Have you ever talked to Harry about her?" Sirius asked.

Bill shook his head. He had wanted to tell Harry several times about the fact that he had known his parents, but he was never sure how to approach the subject. He was never sure how Harry would react.

"You should tell him sometime. I know he would like to hear about how wonderful she was. I've told him some things about his dad, but it's just hard to put Lily into words," Sirius said.

"Don't I know it," Bill said. But he decided that one day, he would tell Harry exactly what kind of woman his mother was. It was terrible that all he really knew about her was that she sacrificed herself to save him. Sure, that probably told Harry a great deal about her character, but that didn't let him know how funny she was, or how smart, or how being around her was like being in the presence of true goodness.

There were so many stories he could share with him. But he still wasn't quite ready. He had only just gotten Sirius back, and he didn't know if he could handle talking about a person that he had not discussed in so many years.

He looked up at Sirius, whose eyes were filled with understanding. "Whenever you're ready, I'm sure Harry will appreciate it."

Bill nodded and was grateful when Sirius changed the subject asking about how Bill's final years at Hogwarts had been. Bill happily launched into a favorite story of his from his seventh year and he and Sirius talked and laughed through the rest of the night.

* * *

Remus had been the one to tell him.

Bill had been sleeping when he was awoken by an alarm telling him someone was trying to access his floo network.

Fleur had been asleep beside him and did not stir at all as the alarm went off. She was the soundest sleeper he had ever met.

He went to his fireplace and granted access. Sometimes he wished he hadn't.

Remus' head was in the fireplace and his eyes were bloodshot.

Even before the words were out of his mouth, Bill knew it was Sirius.

"He's gone."

He had collapsed to the floor and cried. Remus had come through the fireplace and cried with him. They had both lost so many years. So many years wasted thinking that one of their best friends was a traitor. It wasn't fair.

"I know it doesn't help now, but eventually it will: He died in battle. That's exactly the way he would have wanted to go," Remus said.

Bill nodded. It was true. The worst thing about Sirius' thirteen years in Azkaban, and really what had been horrible about this past year for him as well, was being locked up, unable to fight. Sirius was a warrior. A hero. He would never be content to sit and do nothing. If given the choice between safety and doing nothing, and danger and making a difference, it was always the second choice for Sirius. It wasn't even a contest.

"Does Harry know?" Bill asked, unable to imagine what the boy could be going through.

Remus nodded sadly, "He saw it happen. Sirius was there to protect him."

Bill closed his eyes as his heart was gripped with sadness for Harry.

"It's not fair. He's been through so much. These things shouldn't keep happening to him. He barely got to know Sirius, and he never got to know Lily and James. It just isn't fair."

"No, it's not." Remus agreed. "It's not fair to anyone."

After a while, Remus left and Bill was left alone to think. Eventually Fleur realized he was not in bed and came into the sitting room to find him. He told her what happened and she comforted him. That night was when he first realized he wanted to marry her. He asked her a few days later.

Now it was a few days before his wedding and he realized that nothing was as it should be. Sirius should be there. So should Lily. And James. Gideon. Fabian. Dumbledore. So many people that had been lost over the years. And he shouldn't be standing in front of a mirror, disgusted with his appearance.

There were so many reasons to hate the world and what it had done, and yet, he was happy. He was marrying the woman he loved and while none of those others that he loved were there, there was someone who was.

Harry.

Everyone close to Bill who had been killed had died fighting. They fought a war that many were afraid couldn't be won. But Bill knew it could. Bill looked at Harry and he saw all of them. He saw the fight in his eyes that he had seen in his Uncles'. In Lily's. In Sirius'. And he knew that where they had tried and failed, Harry would succeed.

And Bill was ready to help in any way he could. He was ready to tell Harry about the wonderful people who had preceded him, who he had never had a chance to get to know. Bill hoped that it would help them both. He hoped it would help Harry succeed, and help himself to move on.

* * *

**A/N**: For my Bill timeline explanation, look at the author's notes at the end of The Mystery of the Marauder's Map, I'm too lazy to write it all down again. :) 


End file.
